Chapter 85.1

Under Lin Beifan’s gaze, Yan Song became nervous: “Your Majesty, is there anything wrong with this name?”

“There’s nothing wrong with it. I really like the name; it sounds very auspicious!” Lin Beifan said with a smile.

Following that, Lin Beifan posed several questions to test him.

The other party answered each one fluently and substantively, proving to be a truly capable person.

Lin Beifan was very satisfied: “I greatly admire your talent and wish to recruit you as an official to serve me. Would you be willing?”

This was simply a stroke of incredible luck from the heavens!

As a scholar, who wouldn’t want to hold an official post and serve the state?

Who wouldn’t want to put their learning to good use?

Now, the opportunity has arrived!

Yan Song was overjoyed and bowed in response, “Your Majesty bestows grace upon me, how could I not obey?”

“Good! Since you have the talent for recognizing people’s abilities, I plan to send you to the Ministry of Civil Service for training. Start as a Supervisor! If you perform well and excel, the position of Minister of the Ministry of Civil Service could be yours!” Lin Beifan said with a smile.

Yan Song was ecstatic; a Supervisor at the Ministry of Civil Service was a fifth-rank official!

If everything goes smoothly with the imperial examination, even if you come out as the top scholar, you would only be a sixth-rank official.

Now, he starts directly as a fifth-rank official, and moreover, he holds an office within the Ministry of Civil Service, saving who knows how much time.

Such immense imperial grace!

“Thank you, Your Majesty, for your dragon’s grace! This humble servant will certainly bend his back to the task and not cease until death!” Yan Song declared his determination loudly.

“Very well! There’s nothing much at the moment, so accompany me for a walk!” Lin Beifan said with a smile.

“This humble servant obeys the command!” Yan Song bowed with his hands clasped in front.

Following that, Yan Song walked closely behind Lin Beifan, matching his pace step for step.

Without saying much, he was like an invisible presence.

However, whenever Lin Beifan needed assistance, he would immediately emerge to share Lin Beifan’s worries.

His ability to read the room and understand unspoken cues was truly remarkable.

At this moment, Lin Beifan and his companions had unknowingly arrived at a bustling street.

The street was adorned with intricately carved railings and painted eaves, with gilded signboards hanging high and red lanterns held aloft, exuding an air of opulence and nobility. On both sides of the street, many scantily clad courtesans were soliciting customers.

“Sir, come and have some fun, Xiaoyu has missed you!”

“Young man, don’t rush off so quickly, have you forgotten Xiaoli?”

“Master Liu, it’s been only a few days since we last met, but it feels like an eternity. Please come in!”

Lin Beifan’s gaze was deep and distant: “This place seems to be a brothel! I remember it wasn’t like this before.”

“Reporting to the master, it indeed wasn’t like this in the past!”

Yan Song explained quietly, “Previously, this was just an ordinary residence, but ever since the food street next door became popular, this place was taken over by a wealthy merchant who refurbished it and named it the Hundred Flowers Pavilion. It opened half a month ago and immediately attracted a throng of guests, bustling with activity!”

“Taking over the entire street, it seems this merchant is quite powerful!” Lin Beifan remarked coolly.

“Master, it is said that there is the support of a noble family behind him, which is why he has such substantial financial resources!” Yan Song said softly.

“I see, that explains it!”

For some reason, Yan Song noticed that Lin Beifan’s demeanor was a bit off when the subject of the brothel came up. Wisely, he stepped back and became inconspicuous.

At that moment, the courtesans spotted Lin Beifan and his companions, their eyes lighting up as they swarmed towards them.

“Esteemed sir, come visit our Hundred Flowers Pavilion! We have many girls here!”

“Whatever type of girl you desire, we have them all! We’ve just opened and our prices are very attractive!”

“Sir, do you prefer the delicate beauty of our little Xiaoyu or the mature and voluptuous Sister Lili?”

“Xiaoyu, you really don’t know the rules. A man of wealth and power like the sir here would surely want them all!”

“Sister is right, please come in, my lord!”

Lin Beifan showed no reaction, but Chai Yuxin’s face turned cold as frost, and she scolded, “All of you, go away! As women, to brazenly seduce others, you have no shame!”

Although these women were veiled, their elegant demeanor still stood out, making the others sour with envy.

Vulgar insults started to fly.

“Putting on airs, aren’t you? Isn’t it just that you snagged the lord ahead of time?”

“We’re all women, who’s to say who’s more noble?”

“Are you covering your face with a veil because you’re too ugly to show your face?”

“Now you’re stopping us, are you worried that you’ve lost your charm, afraid that the master will be seduced away by us?”

Chai Yuxin’s expression turned even colder.

But, maintaining her dignity, she didn’t want to argue with these women of ill-repute and lower herself to their level.

So, she hurriedly pulled Lin Beifan away.

As they walked, she kept reminding Lin Beifan earnestly, “Let me tell you, you are the ruler of a nation, the lord of all under heaven, and your status is extremely noble. You must never come to a place like this again; it’s too filthy! If you have any needs, just go directly to Xiangjun!”

Lin Beifan patted his chest and assured, “Yuxin, rest assured, even if I were looking for someone, it wouldn’t be them!”

“That’s more like it!” Chai Yuxin nodded, but the next second, she felt something was off.

And the following second.

“You jerk, how dare you compare me with those women?”

Lin Beifan: “Ow, ow, ow…”

The people around them all turned their heads away, pretending not to see.

After leaving the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, they found themselves unwittingly on another street.

The crowd noticed that this street was also bustling with activity.

However, the majority of the passersby were men, many of whom entered with joy and left with their heads hanging in dejection.

“Where is this place? What are they doing?” Lin Beifan asked.

“Your Majesty, if you walk further down this road, you will reach the Sifang Gambling House, which has recently opened. Those people are all here to gamble!” Yan Song immediately explained.

“So it’s a gambling house. It seems to have a considerable size!” Lin Beifan remarked pensively.

“Your Majesty, your humble servant has heard that the Sifang Gambling House is run by a rivers and lakes power known as the Money Gang. They have opened gambling houses in dozens of countries, setting up wherever business is good! They are old players at the rivers and lakes, with a gang that numbers over 100,000 members. Many countries dare not provoke them!” (TLN: Rivers and lakes= martial art world.)

“Others may not dare to provoke, but I am eager to give it a try!” Lin Beifan led his group as they broke through the door and entered.

Seeing Lin Beifan coming in with a large entourage, the people at the gambling house were startled. They quickly came over with a group of thugs and demanded, “Who are you, and what are you doing here?”

Lin Beifan chuckled, “What else would we be here for if not to gamble?”

With a wave of his hand, Eunuch Liu immediately took out a purse, which contained silver, gold, and banknotes, all together worth more than 5,000 taels of silver.

The gambling house staff immediately put on a smile, “So you’re here to play, welcome, very welcome!”

“This lord, what would you like to play? Shall I find someone to keep you company?”

As they spoke, the gambling house staff covertly signaled with their eyes, hinting to keep this money bag here.

Lin Beifan flashed a slight smile, “I’m getting on in years; too complex games are not for me. I just like to bet on the simple matter of big or small!”

Getting on in years and unable to play complex games?

The people at the gambling house were even more delighted upon hearing this: “Absolutely no problem! You are an esteemed guest. We’ll set up a private table just for you, how does that sound?”

“Excellent, I really appreciate this kind of service!” Lin Beifan snapped his fingers.

And so, a new betting table was unveiled.

At this table, aside from Lin Beifan and his companions, there was only the dealer, which essentially meant Lin Beifan was gambling directly against the house.

“Sir, please check!” The dealer passed the dice and the shaker over, indicating that he hadn’t tampered with them.

Lin Beifan didn’t even look: “Stop dawdling, let’s start!”

“Very well, esteemed guest! To ensure fairness, our game works like this: you roll once, I roll once, and we take turns betting on the high or low outcome. If you guess correctly, you win money; if you guess wrong, you lose money. How does that sound?”

Lin Beifan nodded: “Fine, let’s do it that way!”

Due to the high stakes of the game, it attracted the attention of the gamblers present.

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